Disposal of Commercial Cleaning Products

Correct disposal of commercial cleaning products – the majority of which contain toxic or hazardous chemicals – is important for our health and for the overall ecological system. Most people are unaware of which products in their home require special procedures for disposal. Many hazardous products end up in the domestic waste disposal system destined for landfill, where they can pollute the air and water systems we all rely on. When we think of hazardous wastes we tend to imagine factories, smokestacks, blackened runoff and soil, and pipes pouring deadly poisons into the waterways. But many household chemicals contain the same kind of chemicals that when put in landfill can leach out and poison surface and ground waters in the surrounding areas. They end up in the landfill because most people don't realise the hazard, and because it is easier to just put them in the bin with other domestic waste.

Household chemicals cause frequent fires in waste collection bins and waste collection vehicles. In the US one percent of national waste is made up of household hazardous waste. Although this percentage seems small it equates to 25-45 kilos per household.

We need to take the time to find out how to dispose of household products containing hazardous waste and then follow through and dispose of them properly. Most local government offices and municipal authorities are able to inform us how to dispose of these products.

There are literally hundreds of consumer products that contain hazardous chemicals. The following incomplete list of products we find around the home considered hazardous waste, has been developed by the Centre for Environmental Communications

Household Hazardous Waste

Automotive	Household Cleaners	Paint and Paint Products	Pesticides
Antifreeze	Aluminium cleaner	Latex paint	Baygon
Automotive body filler	Air fresheners	Linseed oil	Chlordane
Brake fluid	Ammonia	Solvent-based paint	Diasinon
Car battery acid	Bleach	Paint additives	Dursban
Car wax & polish	Cesspool cleaners	Paint strippers	DDT
Carburetor cleaner	Detergent	Paint thinners	Flea collars/spray
Degreaser	Disinfectants	Primer	Fungicides
Diesel fuel	Drain opener	Pruning paint	Herbicides
Engine starting fluid	Dry-cleaning fluids	Shellac	Insecticides
Fuel treatments	Floor wax	Speciality paints	Lindane
Gasoline	Furniture polish	Spray paint	Malathion
Gear oil	Laundry softener	Stains	Moth balls/crystals
Grease	Lye	Turpentine	Mouse & rat poisons
Lead-acid batteries	Metal polish	Varnish	Pyrethrins
Motor oil	Mildew remover		Rodenticides
Power steering fluid	Oven cleaners		Strychnine
Tire black	Rug & upholstery spot remover		Weed killer
Transmission fluid	Spray starch		Wood preservative
Window washer fluid	Toilet cleaner

Art supplies	Fuels	Things that go bang
Glues & adhesives	Camping fuel	Ammunition
Hydrofluoric acid (etching acid)	Petrol/oil mixtures	Explosives
Paints	Kerosene	Firecrackers
Photographic chemicals	Lighter fluid	Flares
Picric acid	White gas	Gun cleaning solvents
Polyurethane cement		Gunpowder

Home Repair	Home and Hobby	Home Office
Asphalt driveway sealer	Boat bilge pumps	Ammonia from blueprint machines
Asbestos	Chemistry kits	Circuit boards
Asphalt roofing cement	Compressed gas cylinders	Computer screens
Creosote	Cutting oil	Consumer electronics
Epoxies	Household batteries	Duplicator fluid
Fluorescent light ballasts	Industrial cleaners	Ink jet cartridges
Fluorescent lights	Mercury	Toner from laser printers & copiers
Glues	Refrigerator / air conditioner CFCs
Grinding compounds	TV/Computer cathode ray tubes
Pool cleaners & chemicals	Other electronics
Resins
Rubber cement
Rust proofing
Smoke detectors
Stump killer
thermostats

Personal care
Fingernail polish
Fingernail polish remover
Hair colouring
Hydrogen peroxide
Iodine
Infectious waste
Medications
Mercury thermometers
Perfume
Peroxide
Pharmaceuticals
Shoe polish
Syringe/sharps